Tufts University

About: Tufts University is a education organization based out in Medford, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 32800 authors who have published 66881 publications receiving 3451152 citations. The organization is also known as: Tufts College & Universitatis Tuftensis.

Post‐Divorce Family Relationships as Mediating Factors in the Consequences of Divorce for Children

Abstract: In this study, the psychological structure of the family after divorce is seen as mediating the impact of divorce upon children. Divorce affects primary bonds with parents, presents challenges to conceptions of social reality, and creates stress which interferes with normal development. The effects of divorce upon child behavior (peer relations, stress, aggression, work effectiveness at school) were examined through two contrasting research strategies: 1) a comparison of the behavior of children in divorced and intact families, and 2) analysis of the association between family processes and child outcomes in intact and divorced families. Family processes examined were: (a) the affective relationships between the father and mother, (b) the affective relationships between the child and each parent separately, and (c) for divorced families, the amount of contact between child and non-custodial parent. For divorced and intact groups combined, the relationships among family members appeared to be more potent influences on child behavior than was marital status. The negative effects of divorce were greatly mitigated when positive relationships with both parents were maintained. The child's relationship with the non-custodial parent (father) was as important as the continuing relationship with the mother. Implications for research and for public policy are discussed.

Body mass index in children and adolescents: considerations for population-based applications

Abstract: Body mass index in children and adolescents: considerations for population-based applications

Candida albicans Biofilms Produce Antifungal-Tolerant Persister Cells

Abstract: Fungal pathogens form biofilms that are highly recalcitrant to antimicrobial therapy The expression of multidrug resistance pumps in young biofilms has been linked to increased resistance to azoles, but this mechanism does not seem to underlie the resistance of mature biofilms that is a model of in vivo infection The mechanism of drug resistance of mature biofilms remains largely unknown We report that biofilms formed by the major human pathogen Candida albicans exhibited a strikingly biphasic killing pattern in response to two microbicidal agents, amphotericin B, a polyene antifungal, and chlorhexidine, an antiseptic, indicating that a subpopulation of highly tolerant cells, termed persisters, existed The extent of killing with a combination of amphotericin B and chlorhexidine was similar to that observed with individually added antimicrobials Thus, surviving persisters form a multidrug-tolerant subpopulation Interestingly, surviving C albicans persisters were detected only in biofilms and not in exponentially growing or stationary-phase planktonic populations Reinoculation of cells that survived killing of the biofilm by amphotericin B produced a new biofilm with a new subpopulation of persisters This suggests that C albicans persisters are not mutants but phenotypic variants of the wild type Using a stain for dead cells, rare dark cells were visible in a biofilm after amphotericin B treatment, and a bright and a dim population were physically sorted from this biofilm Only the dim cells produced colonies, showing that this method allows the isolation of yeast persisters Given that persisters formed only in biofilms, mutants defective in biofilm formation were examined for tolerance of amphotericin B All of the known mutants affected in biofilm formation were able to produce normal levels of persisters This finding indicates that attachment rather than formation of a complex biofilm architecture initiates persister formation Bacteria produce multidrug-tolerant persister cells in both planktonic and biofilm populations, and it appears that yeasts and bacteria have evolved analogous strategies that assign the function of survival to a small part of the population In bacteria, persisters are dormant cells It remains to be seen whether attachment initiates dormancy that leads to the formation of fungal persisters This study suggests that persisters may be largely responsible for the multidrug tolerance of fungal biofilms

Developmental Science, Developmental Systems, and Contemporary Theories of Human Development†

Abstract: This chapter discusses the emphasis in contemporary scholarship about human development on developmental systems theories, models of development that emphasize relational approaches to the multiple levels of organization involved in development across the life span. Philosophical and scientific interest in developmental systems theory has influenced the study of human development to change from an emphasis on psychological science to an interest in integrating ideas and methods from multiple scientific fields in the service of describing, explaining, and optimizing the course of human life. Within this relational approach, the study of diversity and the promotion positive development across the life span become major substantive foci of developmental science. Keywords: application; developmental science; diversity; plasticity; positive human development; relationism